On the weekend of November 4th-5th, the annual Anime Pasadena Convention took place at the Pasadena Convention Center. The venue was filled to the brim with spirited anime fans all waiting to experience the fun that the convention had to offer. There was a line that wrapped all the way around the block full of cosplayers from all imaginable anime, decked out and in the spirit of the event. On November 4th, the My Hero Academia English dub voice actors came together for a panel.
My Hero Academia English Cast at Anime Pasadena
Anime Pasadena had two full event rooms of anime-related merchandise for sale, great food, photo opportunities, meet and greets, and panels of voice actors from popular anime.
The My Hero Academia English cast panel was hosted by Alia in a fabulous Bakugo cosplay (@magicalblackgirlalia), and she spoke with some of the most popular heroes and villain English voice actors from the anime.
The panelists included: Justin Briner (the voice of Deku), Clifford Chapin (the voice of Bakugo), Kyle Herbert (the voice of Fat Gum), Felecia Angelle (the voice of Hagakure), J. Michael Tatum (the voice of Iida), and Kellen Goff (the voice of Overhaul).
The Civic Stage Auditorium was filled with eager My Hero supporters, and the cast was just as enthusiastic to be together in front of their many fans.
English Dub Cast Panel
All the beloved actors introduced themselves and their characters in their character voices, to which Goff laughed and said “I’m glad there were no boo’s” after he spoke in his Overhaul voice, as a notorious villain in the series.
As a major premise of the anime taking place in a super-human society where different members have superpowers called “quirks,” the panelists then discussed which quirk would be their first choice. As the voice of the born-quirkless protagonist Deku, Justin Briner responded, “Beggars can’t be choosers, I’ll take what I can get y’all,” which was completely in character. Also perfectly in character was the voice of the fiery Bakugo Katsuki, Clifford Chapin, who clarified if there were any rules to the question, and then confidently answered, “I want all the quirks.”
The rest of the panelists chose quirks such as world peace, a power from ‘One Piece’ that allows a ghost to go through people to make others feel negatively (exclusively in Trader Joe’s lines), fart throwing, and electricity manipulation.
Host Alia highlighted that many of us feel as if we’ve grown up with these characters, and love them enough to even dress up as them. The hit anime first aired in 2016, and many of these characters have been well-loved since the very beginning by fans. Because of this, Alia questioned what the actor’s love most about the characters they’ve played for 7 years now.
Goff explained that his favorite thing about Overhaul is his power, and that it can be used in so many different ways. He said that if Overhaul was a hero, he could be like a Recovery Girl almost. He clarified that he likes the power, but how he uses it? Not so much.
Tatum resonates with Iida, and explained that he really understands his character. “I just get him, he’s me if I ran fast,” he said which left the audience laughing in agreement. Ultimately, his favorite thing about Iida is that all of his actions come from a good place, and that he loves his friends and wants them to succeed.
Angelle said that from the very beginning, her favorite thing about Hagakure is her positivity. She also highlighted that as the series progresses, she is becoming sassier! “She is not afraid to go toe-to-toe with the bigger personalities and tell them, ‘No! I don’t think you’re being very cash-money right now!’”
Herbert said to sum up what he loves about Fat Gum, is when fans have told him how his role inspires them. He shared that recently, a fan said that he was so happy to see Fat Gum as a hero that represents his figure, that he can resonate with and look up to him. Herbert said it was inspirational and cool to see that he inspired a fan to cosplay Fat Gum.
Again with an uncanny answer to his character’s, when describing what he loved about Bakugo, Chapin responded, “For me, Bakugo is the best!” He then continued to say what makes Bakugo the best is his character’s growth that is unparalleled in the show. He highlighted that it’s fulfilling as an actor to play a character who has changed so dramatically in the last seven years since the first episode. “That’s the actor’s dream, is to get to play and tell a story like that. I’m very grateful to get to play Bakugo,” he said.
As the voice actor of the anime’s main protagonist, Briner explained that Deku is a very special kid to him. “He’s still growing and learning lessons and I think that commitment to educating yourself through your entire life is really important,” he said. He highlighted some of Deku’s more recent lessons, such as how you should never be afraid to ask for help, which Deku learned firsthand in season 6 of the show. He ended by saying he can’t wait for Deku’s next lesson.
Q&A Portion
When it came time for the fan Q&A portion of the My Hero Academia English cast panel, anxious fans scrambled into a line for a chance to ask their favorite actors their questions. The panelists graciously answered every fan question they could, until the panel came to an end.
Overall, the dub cast of the My Hero Academia panel made it even more apparent how incredible they are at their jobs. They have given immense time, dedication, and heart into the characters that fans know and love so dearly over the last 7 years, and all showed their excitement to continue. They ended the event by prompting their fans to shout out loud, “Go Beyond, Plus Ultra!!” which radiated through the hall and left the room full of smiling and laughing fans.
My Hero Academia is available to watch on streaming services such as Hulu, Apple TV, Funimation, and Crunchyroll.
Leave a Reply